Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight Rating

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has a $25.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $20.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 62.18% from the company’s current price.

LBRT has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Liberty Energy from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Liberty Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Liberty Energy from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets raised Liberty Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Liberty Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.90.

Liberty Energy Price Performance

Shares of LBRT stock opened at $15.42 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $17.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.55. The stock has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 1.58. Liberty Energy has a 52-week low of $13.86 and a 52-week high of $24.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.06). Liberty Energy had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 7.32%. As a group, analysts forecast that Liberty Energy will post 0.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael Stock sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.82, for a total value of $416,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 680,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,161,909.74. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $808,350 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,115,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640,119 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,662,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,193,000 after purchasing an additional 176,887 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,178,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,992,000 after purchasing an additional 505,634 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Liberty Energy by 83.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,828,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,197,352 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Energy by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,779,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,173,000 after buying an additional 207,527 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.22% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Energy Company Profile

Liberty Energy Inc provides hydraulic services and related technologies to onshore oil and natural gas exploration, and production companies in North America. The company offers hydraulic fracturing services, including complementary services, such as wireline services, proppant delivery solutions, field gas processing and treating, compressed natural gas (CNG) delivery, data analytics, related goods comprising sand mine operations, and technologies; and well site fueling and logistics.